"If allowed to go
unchecked, this obstruction means the end of congressional oversight."
The House Judiciary Committee
Wednesday voted to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt over his
refusal to turn over the unredacted Mueller report to Congress—the latest
escalation in a constitutional crisis between the two theoretically co-equal branches
of government.
The vote came as the White
House asserted executive privilege to block the report's release, a decision
that Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, called
Tuesday evening "the behavior of this lawless administration."
Nadler subpoenaed the
full report in mid-April.
The 24 to 16 vote came down on
party lines, with one abstention.
After the vote, Nadler told
reporters, "We are now in a constitutional crisis."
In earlier remarks to the
committee Wednesday, Nadler said that the issue was bigger than just the
report—by asserting executive privilege to block congressional subpoenas, the
White House was attacking Congress itself.
"This is
unprecedented," said Nadler. "If allowed to go unchecked, this obstruction
means the end of congressional oversight. As a co-equal branch of government,
we should not and cannot allow this to continue."
Other Democrats, like Rep.
Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) echoed that sentiment.
"We are at a brink of
importance between democracy and dictatorship if we ignore checks and
balances," said Jayapal.
Barr's withholding from the
committee the unredacted report is just the one of a series of moves taken by
the Attorney General that have frustrated House Democrats.
The AG, after enduring a
contentious hearing in the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee on April
30, chose to skip his scheduled testimony two days later, on May 3, in the
Democrat-majority House.
At the time, Nadler warned
that Barr's intransigence could lead to contempt, but left the door open to
negotiations with the Department of Justice for the report's release.
Once Barr refused to turn over
the unredacted report, Nadler and his committee moved to hold the attorney
general in contempt.
Progressives welcomed the
committee's contempt vote and expressed concern over the White House's
assertion of executive privilege.
"Congress is a coequal
branch of government whether President Trump likes it or not," said Karen
Hobert Flynn, president of Common Cause.
Flynn warned that a lax
approach to the administration's stubborn behavior on subpoenas could have
damaging effects down the line.
"Congressional tolerance
of Trump administration slow-walking of document and witness requests have only
led to outright stonewalling," said Flynn, "and that deeply
disturbing pattern must be ended now."
"Trump. Is. Hiding.
Something," tweeted liberal advocacy group MoveOn ahead of the vote.
Journalist Dan Froomkin called
on the media to contextualize Trump's actions.
"Trump's assertion of
executive privilege is insanely overbroad, unprecedented and basically
nuts," said Froomkin. "Any article that doesn't indicate that
instantly is doing its readers a disservice."
Legal analyst Neal Katyal,
meanwhile, hearkened back to an earlier time in American history.
"Ah," said Katyal.
"The Full Nixon."
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